Murray's Sunday List: Best NFL careers by Pack players

Every Sunday, RGJ columnist Chris Murray will count down a top-10 list. This week's list counts down the 10 best pro players in Wolf Pack football history based solely on their professional careers (because the NFL draft is this week and OL Joel Bitonio is about to join this list).

1. FB Marion Motley: Motley is the only Nevada alum in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so he has to top the list. He also helped break the NFL's color barrier. Football historian Paul Zimmerman called him "the greatest all-around player" he's ever seen. In nine pro seasons, Motley rushed for 4,720 yards, 31 TDs and averaged 5.7 yards per carry (first all-time among running backs). He was all-league from 1946-50.

2. DE Charles Mann: The Sacramento native didn't get into the Hall of Fame, but he wasn't far off. His 83 sacks rank 49th in league history. He recorded 795 tackles and forced 17 fumbles. Mann won three Super Bowls and went to four Pro Bowls (both are record marks for a Wolf Pack football player).

4. QB Colin Kaepernick: This might be a little high, but Kaepernick is one of just three Wolf Pack alums to start an NFL game at quarterback, plus he took a team to the Super Bowl at the position. Kaepernick hasn't made a Pro Bowl roster yet, but he seems primed to get there if his first three NFL seasons are an indication.

5. DE Doug Betters: Betters won the 1983 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, breaking up Lawrence Taylor's streak of two straight seasons winning the award. Betters had 16 sacks and four fumble recoveries that season. He finished with 64.5 career sacks and is in the Dolphins' Ring of Honor.

6. WR Nate Burleson: The 6-foot wide receiver has never been an NFL star, but he's been consistently solid. He's caught 457 passes for 5,630 yards and 39 touchdowns in 11 NFL seasons. He also has four return touchdowns. Bonus: His $41 million career salary leads all former Wolf Pack players in any sport.

7. OG/C Derek Kennard: After two seasons in the USFL, Kennard moved to the NFL, where he started 122 games for four teams over 11 years. A versatile lineman, Kennard started at center in the Dallas Cowboys' 1995 Super Bowl win over Pittsburgh. He never made a Pro Bowl, but was always reliable.

8. CB Patrick Hunter: Despite a litany of off-the-field issues, including a near-fatal car crash involving alcohol early in his career, Hunter, a third-round draft pick in 1986, stuck in the NFL for a decade. Spending most of his career in Seattle, Hunter had 409 tackles and 14 interceptions over 104 starts.

9. K Tony Zendejas: If we're counting kickers as football players, and I think we have to, Zendejas has to be on the list. During his 11-year career, Zendejas made 186-of-252 field goals (73.8 percent). His 874 points rank 74th in NFL history before Hall of Famers Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk and Cris Carter.

10. OG Harvey Dahl: The only true local on the list, having gone to Fallon High, Dahl has carved out an excellent career considering he wasn't drafted, even being named the NFL's meanest (and one of its most dirty) players at one point. He's started 82 games over eight seasons, but is currently a free agent after being released by the Rams following ankle surgery.